Entries by Steve Patterson

Steve Patterson: Hanging out with some very old Jews

I have been spending a lot of time with friends lately, a motley crew of old Jews. Not high school or college buddies, or bird hunting or fishing pals, nor even my old political cohorts with whom I used to roam the capitol’s corridors. No, these are not childhood friends, though they have always been […]

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Steve Patterson: The Evil in us all

Have you seen Evil lately? Do you know where it lives? How big it is? Is it educated or illiterate, rich or poor, gregarious or bashful? Is it Muslin, Christian, or Jew? Is it hideously ugly or stunningly beautiful? What color is Evil? Is evil something we are, or something we do, or something we […]

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Steve Patterson: Sundays on Grandma’s porch

With a nod to William Faulkner and O. Henry, guest author Steve Patterson recalls poignant lessons learned on Grandma’s porch.   I well remember my grandmother getting up so early Sunday mornings the sun was not even up, so the horizon was just awakening with the slightest glimmer of red, a dash of orange and […]

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Steve Patterson: “Who’d a thunk it?”

    Back in the day, when someone stated the obvious, a frequent response was “who’d a thought it” or, even more likely, “Who’d a thunk it?” That old phrase has been running through my head an awfully lot lately. Why? Well, perhaps because it’s election year in Mississippi. Normally this is a season that […]

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Steve Patterson: Truth and setting the record straight

Truth is elusive. Truth is increasingly rare and, therefore, extremely valuable. Truth is scarce and never simple. It is not ours to choose, nor is it dependent on our own capacity to tolerate it. Facts alone do not constitute truth. I am reminded of Aaron Sorkin’s character Colonel Jessup in his play and movie script, […]

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Steve Patterson: Soul-stirring voices in the Delta

I had heard that “still small voice” many times before. It wasn’t a loud voice; in fact it wasn’t even an audible voice. But I heard it on this day in the Mississippi Delta. I heard it loud and clear. I recognized it because I’d had recent, profound experiences with it. On at least two […]

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Steve Patterson: “Baloney is not cheap!”

  Alabama’s Governor George C. Wallace once appeared on a Sunday talk show during his heyday as a demagogic segregationist. There, he proclaimed a profound truth — one that has stood the test of time, and is particularly timely right now. He stated, “Baloney is not cheap!” Anyone who knows anything about the quintessential Wallace  […]

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Steve Patterson on Senator Fritz Hollings: The last of the Mohicans

  The roar of the last of the old Southern Democrat lions of the United States Senate has been silenced. My friend and role model, Senator Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina is no more. As South Carolina Governor in the late 1950’s, “Fritz” Hollings helped shepherd South Carolina’s public schools to a smooth transition […]

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Steve Patterson: The day the music died

  Mama cried. I fought. Friday November 22, 1963. How the nation’s music went silent An assassin’s bullet kills President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. A deep black grief grips America. Hopes go unfulfilled. Speeches go unmade. Promises go unrealized. Policies go adrift. Innocence dies. Dreams are vanquished and the music goes silent. A […]

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Steve Patterson: A Christian Democrat Speaks

    It came out of nowhere, like a stealth bomber dropping its payload on my unsuspecting self. “Hello, Mr. Patterson how are you?” she said as I stood in a Jackson book store trying to recollect who she was and where I had met her. “I’ve been reading your columns,” she added, as I […]

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